Tears and Smiles
by Blood-Spattered
Summary: NOC Sort of a sequel to Love, Leaves and Dead Bodies, but only in that the same characters are used. What can Nick do when his love is hovering between life and death? How can he bring justice, how can he cope?
1. The Dead

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything CSI or CSI related, but Dani and this plot is mine…and only mine…so no stealing.  
Author's Notes: This is sort of a sequel to my other story: Love, Leaves and Dead Bodies, which isn't actually finished yet, but if you want to know more about Dani, go read that, and you'll get a pretty good idea. Alright, ON with the story!!**

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tears and Smiles

Chapter 1

A few crickets chirped as a black SUV pulled up to the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and out stepped a figure. His name? Nick Stokes, CSI level 3, muscular, dazzling smile, girl-magnet…however, he didn't know much about that. His attentions were solely on one girl and one girl only. The one and only Miss. Danielle Ryan, who, in his opinion anyway, was a goddess of beauty…a queen of love…a…ok, enough of that slightly over-dramatic love stuff…and Nick and Dani were certainly in love. As he climbed out, he looked over the parking lot in search of her familiar blue Toyota, which he spotted parked a few spaces over, seemingly tiny in-between Grissom and Warrick's SUVs.

He grinned widely, and locked his own car, walking into the crime lab and signing in just below Dani's name, then walked towards the break room, where she would be waiting for shift to start. Maybe he'd even be lucky and he'd find her alone.

Dani was indeed in the break room, swivelling back and forth in a rolling chair, bored out of her skull. The minutes seemed to be passing by like hours. However, she caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the doorway as she went spinning crazily, and before she could stop herself, two firm hands had stopped it for her, and she was staring right up into those big brown eyes that could make any girl melt. Not that Dani wouldn't make quite a few guys turn their heads and gawk. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes, a nice figure…and actually down-to-earth and nice. Definitely not a supermodel, but not too shabby.

"Hi." She said, smiling softly, and he grinned as well.

"Hi Dani." He said, and gave her a kiss, soft but passionate, pushing her back into the chair, which resulted in the chair slowly pushing back against one wall. They might have remained like that for a while, were it not for someone clearing their throat from the door. They both broke away to reveal a rather amused-looking Greg standing in the doorway. Dani blushed, as did Nick, and they both stood up, and Greg couldn't help but laugh, and he quickly left to go to the lab before Nick hurt him.

Nick glanced at Dani, and they both broke out into embarrassed grins, as Grissom, Catherine, Warrick and Sara walked in, and, from the look on everyone's face (except Grissom, of course) they'd obviously been talking to Greg in the last five minutes. Grissom, however made no comment, just started handing out cases. "Nick, you, Catherine and me have got a DB over on Birchtree Lane." He held out a folder to Nick, who took it reluctantly, wishing he could've had a case with Dani for once. But then, Grissom probably didn't trust them to be alone together, and he couldn't really blame him…

Grissom continued. "Warrick, you, Dani and Sara go out to Fremont Crescent, there's a dead body found in one of the houses. The circumstances lead us to believe it's related to a case a few weeks ago over in L.A, so be extra meticulous. Get everything." Dani nodded, as did Warrick and Sara, and they walked out, Dani sending one last small smile over her shoulder at Nick, who smiled back, watching her until she was out of sight. 

"Stop gawking at your girlfriend, Nick, and come on." Catherine said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. He dragged his eyes over to her, and followed, sighing audibly. It was going to be a long night…hell, it _always _seemed like a long night when he couldn't see Dani every moment of the day. Not that she lived with him, but they stayed over at each other's houses often enough that it seemed like they did.

Dani was smiling to herself the entire way over to Fremont Crescent, her lips still tingling. _Concentrate on the case._ She reminded herself as they pulled up to the curb outside the house, which was surrounded by yellow tape. They all climbed under the tape, and she pushed Nick to the back of her mind reluctantly. The cops were already on their way out, and it was just Brass left, along with a couple of his rookies.

"What do we got, Jim?" Warrick asked as the three CSIs walked up to him, each with their field kits dangling from their hands. "Dead white female, name of Jaclyn Naten. Throat slit, multiple stab wounds…in other words, a lot of blood, so hope you didn't have a big meal for dinner. She looks like she was tortured. It's the exact same scenario as a couple cases up in L.A. The victims even look the same. Looks like we're looking at a serial killer here." As Dani processed all of this, she was looking around at the neighbourhood. Quiet area, perfect lawns, and definitely not the place you would expect a murder to take place.

"She got any family?" She asked, turning her head over to Jim, who shrugged. "Neighbours said she lived alone…" Dani nodded, then turned to the other two, and as in silent agreement, they all started towards the house. "She's in the basement." Jim said as he followed them. He pointed to the stairs, where the door was standing open.

"Was the door open when the police arrived?" Sara asked, turning to look at Brass, who nodded. "It was left wide open…and the stench was pretty evident…" All of them, as used to blood as they were, couldn't help but feel a little nauseous as the scent of blood wafted up from downstairs. They all paused at the top of the stairs, none willing to go down, but then Dani squared her shoulders and started down, bracing herself for what she was about to see.

((CLIFFHANGER!! Ya, I know I shouldn't do that in the first chapter, but I couldn't resist XD Alright, not the most exciting chapter, hope people review and stuff…I'll update probably later tonight or tomorrow night. Again, if you want to know more about Dani, go read my other fanfiction: Love, Leaves and Dead Bodies. Sorry it's so short guys, I'll try to make the next chapter longer…))


	2. A Case of Confusion

Chapter 2

Sara and Warrick, after glancing at each other, started down after her, followed by Brass, his jaw clenched tightly. He'd already seen what had been done to this woman, and it made him sick. Dani's hand clenched into a fist as the crime scene finally came into view, and, had she not clenched her stomach tightly, she might have hurled all over the crime scene just from the stench.

The woman was barely recognisable as a human, her face was covered in blood. It was the only part of her that seemed pretty well undamaged. Her arms and legs were covered with cuts and her chest and stomach with stab wounds. Her throat was slit, which was where most of the blood had come from. She could see, dimly, that the woman had dark red hair…or was that blonde hair stained with blood? Half of her wanted to just run, right then and there, but she forced herself to stay, looking up at the senior CSIs, Sara and Warrick, and waiting for them to tell her what to do.

They both were just as disgusted as Dani, but they pushed their way carefully past her and started processing, taking pictures, swabs, dropping stuff into evidence envelopes…all that stuff. She started walking around the room, looking for the murder weapon, although somehow she doubted it would be here. If this was a signature killer, which it was beginning to look like, whoever it was would have taken their weapon with them, to use in their next murder. Which they had to prevent, at all costs.

---------------------------------Nick's Case -----------------------------------------------------------

Griss, Nick's and Catherine's case was, unlike the other's, on the surface quite easy. The wife had been found, the gun still in her hand, the dead husband lying on the floor of the living room. The wife was obviously distraught, and kept saying, over and over again, that she hadn't shot him, but all the evidence obviously pointed to her. When asked for her statement, she'd said that they'd been fighting, and she'd grabbed the gun, not really planning to shoot him, just wanting to scare him. Then she remembered the sound of a shot going off, and then he'd been on the ground. So basically, Nick, Catherine and Grissom just had to process the scene and make sure there was evidence to make sure her statement was false.

Nick was currently taking a swab of the blood, mechanically, his mind obviously not really on his job. He placed the swab in an evidence bag, then stood up, looking around at the other two, and was about to say something when Catherine interrupted him. "Look, guys, this is pretty straight-forward. All they need to convict is the bullet, which will match the gun…why are we still here?" She asked, looking at Grissom for an answer.

Grissom finished taping a fingerprint from the gun and looked up at the two of them. "What if the bullet doesn't match, Catherine? Then we won't have a fresh crime scene to work with anymore. Keep processing." She looked annoyed, but turned back to what she was doing with a sigh. Never argue with Grissom. He also turned back to photographing the blood splattered all over the ground.

"When will we know about the bullet?" He asked Grissom after a few minutes. "The body's been shipped to the morgue, the autopsy will be done in an hour or so, then the bullet will have to go to ballistics…I'd say maybe an hour and a half?" Grissom said without looking up. Nick sighed, rubbing his forehead with one hand. It was going to be a _really _long night.

------------------------------------------Dani's scene--------------------------------------------------

"Alright, Dani?" Dani looked up at Sara from where she'd been fingerprinting in the corner. "You and I will take the perimeter. Warrick? You stay down here and finish processing the body. Come on, Dani." Sara started up the stairs, and Dani grabbed her kit and followed her, yawning. She was still exhausted from the last case, where she'd been pulling up to quadruple shifts at a time. She'd made it through, with a lot of coffee and a lot of kisses from her 'special someone', who had stayed just as long as she had, even though he wasn't even on her case.

As they exited the house, Sara motioned vaguely to the left. "I'll take the left side, you take the right side?" She suggested, and Dani nodded, and they both moved over towards their respective locations, and before long they were both kneeling on the ground, examining something or other, kits open. It was going to be a long night…

-----------------------------------1 hour later, Nick's crime scene ----------------------------------

_Wonder how Dani's case is going…hope she has a more exciting case than this one…maybe I should call her…no, you can't, what are you thinking? You're on the clock, you'll talk to her back at the lab. _Nick, as was obvious even just looking at him, was obviously not putting everything he had into this case. After all, it was basically open and shut, the lab would be calling any minute to tell them that the bullet matched, and they could all go back to the lab…or maybe he'd swing over to Dani's scene, see if they needed help. Of course, Grissom wouldn't let him, he never let them go to a scene alone anymore. Smart man.

Catherine looked up at Nick and grinned, seeing the faraway expression on his face as he dusted the tabletop for prints mechanically. "Thinking about Dani, Nicko?" She asked, grinning slyly as he jumped and turned to her, slightly flushed.

"Ya…" He said, and chuckled slightly. "Name a time when I'm not thinking about her…" Catherine smiled, then turned back to her own work, feeling rather sad. She'd never had that kind of relationship with Eddie…never…but no, she shouldn't be feeling sad for what's over and done with, but rather, feel happy for Nick and Dani. They were so happy…so obviously in love…she'd seen it ever since Dani had stepped into the break room. They were obviously meant for each other, no doubt about that.

Nick smiled, allowing himself a moment to think about Dani fully, then turned 75 of his mind back to the case, allowing the last 25 a bit of leisure time to think about his butterfly…his love…Dani…He smiled to himself, remembering the first time he'd met Dani. It had been the most innocent of circumstances. In fact, she'd walked in on him when he was singing, by himself in the break room. He'd stood up, startled, and the first thought that ran through his head was: _What the hell is she doing in here? She's not a CSI…better escort her out…_ Ya, not the most romantic thoughts…but hey, he did have a responsibility.

Then she'd introduced herself as 'Danielle Ryan, the new intern,' and he'd smiled and shook her hand. Even then, he'd wondered: _How does someone that pretty become a CSI? Beats me…_ It still didn't make sense to him, but then, if she hadn't been a CSI, he wouldn't have met her…and he would have never known what true happiness was. He smiled, visioning her in his mind's eye, leaves in her hair, after their first case…with bruises on her cheek, after her ex had beat her up…_That bastard…_ He thought to himself. Although it had been quite a while since that incident, and neither of them ever brought it up, he couldn't help but still feel a rage of anger whenever he thought about it.

He was broken out of his reverie by the sound of Grissom's cell phone ringing. _Finally._ He thought to himself, thanking his lucky stars that he was finally getting out of this boredom.

"Grissom." Gil said as he flipped open his cell phone and held it to his ear. A long pause, then a confused. "What? Is she alright?" Another long pause. "Where? Desert Palm? Ok, we'll be there as soon as we can…" He then shut the phone and looked at Catherine and Nick, who were both looking at him with confused expression on their faces.

"We have to get to the hospital." Was all Grissom said, and stood up, heading towards the door, and Nick, with a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, immediately stood up and followed.

((Finished Chapter 2!! Yay, it was actually pretty long!! Ok, so I filled in a bunch of sappy junk in the middle there…but I needed space fillers!!! Ok, please review!! Chapter 3 will be up soon!!))


	3. Remembering

Chapter 3

"Grissom, what's going on?" Nick asked for what seemed like the millionth time, and again, received no answer from the older supervisor, who just kept driving, without even a glance at either him or Catherine. Nick's bad feeling had escalated into full out fear. What if something had happened to Dani? What if she was…dead? No, no, she couldn't be dead…he would've felt something…a severing of the ties that connected them…something…

Catherine was feeling similarly bothered, not because she was afraid personally, but because she was afraid what Nick might do to himself should something have happened to Dani.

"Grissom, tell us what's going on!!" She said, angry at being left in the dark. Grissom peered in the rearview mirror at her, then took a deep breath, obviously deciding that they were going to find out anyway, and it was better to let them know ahead of time, so they'd be able to control themselves.

"Dani's been shot…Warrick and Sara heard shots from where she was working and they found her there…one shot just above the heart, and one in her stomach. She had already slipped into unconsciousness by the time the paramedics arrived…they don't know for sure if she's gonna make it…" Grissom peered in the mirror at Nick, who's face had lost all trace of colour and his mouth was open in shock.

"No…no, she can't…she won't…she'll be fine…" Nick started saying, then put his face in his hands, turning whatever else he'd been saying into muffled words. "She'll be fine…she can't…leave me…" He sat up, staring out the window, feeling as if they were moving at a snail's pace, when Grissom was already pushing the speed limit. Although it seemed like hours, they arrived at the hospital within 10 minutes, and Nick was first out of the car and dashing towards the door. He stopped at the receptionist, leaning forward, quite intimidating.

"Ryan. Danielle Ryan, where is she?" He asked, and the nurse started typing on her computer, seeming to go agonizingly slow, and then looked up at him, looking sympathetic and pitying.

"Miss Ryan is still in surgery, she should be out in about twenty minutes, but we don't know if she'll be up to visitors or not…if you would please wait in the waiting area, and I'll call you when she's ready." The nurse said, to Nick's great frustration. He wanted to see her, to make sure she was still there, that she wasn't…gone…no, she wasn't going anywhere, she was going to stay with him…

After glaring at the nurse for a few seconds, he stormed over to the waiting area, but didn't sit down, just started pacing, glaring at the clock every few seconds. The minutes were passing like days, it seemed. Grissom and Catherine came in and they both sat down, watching Nick pace back and forth, Catherine looking sympathetic, while Grissom seemed stoic, and emotionless.

Finally, after half an hour of agonized waiting, where even Grissom was staring to be annoyed by Nick's constant pacing, the nurse came out and called. "Nick Stokes?" Nick immediately walked over, and waited. "You've been listed as a contact for a Miss Danielle Ryan, and she's now out of surgery, but…she's in a coma…we don't know when…or if she'll come out of it…but if you want to see her…" The nurse said, and Nick's face drained of what little colour had been left, and all he could manage was a nod. He motioned for Grissom and Catherine to follow him, and the nurse led the way down the hall to the ICU.

The nurse paused outside of the door, and turned to the group. "We think it's better if only one person goes in at a time…and also, you can talk to her, but we don't know for sure whether she will hear you or not…" The nurse was trying to be sympathetic and gentle, but Nick didn't even thank her, just pushed through the door into the room, leaving Grissom and Catherine in the hall.

As he entered, he looked at the bed, where Dani was lying, and a lump formed in his throat. She was attached to tons of tubes, IVs, heart monitors, and lots of other machinery that were all there for one sole purpose: to keep her alive. Her skin was deathly pale, and he could see the bandage on her shoulder, which was stained a blood-red colour. He swallowed loudly, then pulled a chair up to the side of the bed, looking down at her. _She's so beautiful…_ He thought, his eyes watering up until he could control it no longer and tears ran down both his cheeks.

"Hi Dani…I…I don't know if you can hear me…the nurse said you might be able to…and…and I'd like to think…that…you…you can…" He was trying to struggle through, even as he knew that, even if she could hear him, she wouldn't be able to show him. "I…I know I've said this to you…but I mean it…every time…I…love you…I love you, Danielle Ryan, and don't you dare leave me alone, do you hear me? Don't you…" He broke down completely then, tears streaming down his cheeks.

After he had controlled himself enough to speak again, he reached over and gently took her hand, which lay on the blanket. It was so cold…like…death…no, he couldn't think like that. "I'm going to find out who did this…I'll find out, Dani, and he won't go unpunished…" He grasped her hand, without squeezing too hard, and for a moment the only sound in the room was the constant beeping of the heart monitor and his quiet sobs.

After about 20 minutes, in which he continued to talk brokenly about how much he loved her, and how, if she left him, he'd die too. The door opened, almost silently, revealing the figure of Warrick, who looked like he'd been upset. In all truth, he felt guilty. He should have been there, he should have known the killer would come back to make sure the scene was clear of evidence. Even as a little voice in his head was telling him that there was no way he could have known that the killer would return, he refused to listen to it.

"Hey, man…I just came to see how Dani was doing…" Warrick said quietly, looking at Nick's tear-stained face, knowing how hard it was for him. "She's a fighter…she'll get through this…" He looked down at Dani's pale form, seemingly tiny surrounded by all the equipment.

"Ya…I guess I should have let you guys come in… I'm sorry…I'll go get the others…" Nick said, standing up reluctantly. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Dani's forehead, wishing that she'd open her eyes and smile at him, like he'd seen her do so many mornings at his house…a small kiss on the forehead and she'd wake up, ready to greet the new day.

As he left, he sat on the chairs outside, and rested his head in his hands, memories flooding through him. He could still remember when he'd finally gotten the nerve to ask her out… ((Flashback))

_There she was…getting her stuff out of her locker, on her way to go home for the night. Her hair was wet, she must have just had a shower, probably to try and get rid of the smell of death. She hadn't even noticed him yet, just flipped her hair out of her way and started to close her locker. She turned to leave, and noticed him standing there for the first time, and she smiled widely, apparently startled._

_"What are you still doing here? I thought everyone had already left…after all, dayshift is starting to get here." She glanced at her watch for confirmation, as if the sunlight that was starting to stream through one window wasn't enough proof. She looked at him, waiting for an answer._

_"Oh, I had to finish writing up some reports…" He lied, to cover the fact that he'd been waiting for her to finish. "So I guess you've got tomorrow off too, huh?" He knew she would have, because they'd both been working at least triple shifts, maybe more, and the county had some weird rules about overtime…they now had the next night off, whether or not they wanted it. _

_"Ya, Grissom told me I don't have a choice…not that I have much reason to come…after all, the case is solved…" She trailed off, as they walked towards the parking lot and she stopped, fishing through her purse for her keys. _It's now or never…_ He thought to himself, and took a deep breath._

_"You want to come to dinner with me tomorrow night?" He asked, provoking a surprised look from her, as she paused in the middle of extracting her keys. He held his breath, waiting, praying…_

_Then she smiled widely and nodded. "I'd love to. Pick me up at 5?" She suggested, leaning against her car, lit up by the sun which was just rising over the horizon behind her. She was so beautiful with the sun behind her…_

_"Ya…ya, five sounds great…" He said, hardly able to believe that this was really happening, that he was going on a date with Danielle Ryan. "Here, let me give you my number, in case you have a change in plans…" He said, fishing through his pocket until he came up with a piece of paper and a pen, and he scribbled his phone number down, handing it to her. She wrote down her own number and handed it over, smiling softly. _

_"See you at 5 then…" She said, then climbed into her car and rode off, leaving him in shock, happiness, and major exhilaration._

((End of Flashback))

That dinner had been the best date he'd ever had…there had been no awkward pauses in the conversation, the food had been good, and it seemed that they really hit it off. After that, they'd gone for a walk in the park, and he, being Mr. Romantic…ok, he'd gotten the idea from Warrick, but that's not the point…he'd picked some flowers for her, much to her apparent delight. He learned later that she'd kept the flowers sitting in her bedroom window, so that she'd wake up to them every day.

This provoked a new wave of tears as he remembered all the sweet little things she'd done for him…working for ages making him the perfect cake for his birthday…waking him with a kiss every day…the list went on and on, and all he could do was cry and think…_After everything…she could be taken away forever by some psycho with a gun…_

((And…FINISHED FOR NOW!! Yes, I hope this chapter hasn't gone too angsty or dramatic or…whatever…Please Read and Review and I'll be eternally grateful!! Thanks to the suggestion from CSIFan4Life, as you can see, I used it!! XD Another chapter will be up soon…I hope…))


	4. The Box of Memories

Chapter 4

((Hello everyone, I finally am updating this story. Anyway, any paragraphs in _Italics_ are flashbacks, while everything else is just normal. Anyway, on with the chapter.))

Nick waited impatiently, and luckily enough his co-workers seemed to sense that he didn't want to talk about it, and kept quiet. As soon as Catherine came out, he stood up and walked over to her, stopping her on her way to the benches.

"Can I ask you a favour?" He asked hoarsely, and when she nodded, he described what he wanted, and she nodded, smiling sympathetically, and took the keys from Nick. "Thanks, Cath, just bring it in the room when you get back…" Then, as soon as she'd disappeared, he pushed back through the doors into the room, the ever-familiar lump growing again in his throat as he saw her again.

He took a seat next to the bed and took her hand in his again, just sitting and staring, not speaking until the door opened about twenty minutes later, revealing Catherine carrying a cardboard box.

"Nick?" He looked up, cheeks streaked with tears he didn't even realize he was shedding. "Uh, here ya go…it was right where you told me…" She held out the box, which he took, letting go of Dani's hand. He placed it gently on his lap, as if it held something incredibly fragile and valuable.

"Thank you…" He said hoarsely, and she nodded and left, even though she was extremely curious as to what was in the box. She knew, however, how hard this was for Nick, and figured he'd have told her if he'd wanted her to know.

Nick stood up, picking up the small table and carrying it over to his chair, then placed the box on top of it, opening it carefully, revealing that the inside flap of the box had a label on it. _Valuable Sentimental Items. _He gave a small smile at the logical, practical label. Definitely Dani.

He started to shift through the box, pulling out the first thing that came to hand, and a small smile graced his lips as he looked at the picture. It was of him and Dani, in a soft kiss under the mistletoe. He was wearing a goofy Santa hat, and she had her arms around his neck. That had been the Christmas he'd taken Dani with him down to Dallas to meet his parents. Apparently his mom had been hanging around with her camera when they'd ended up under the mistletoe. He remembered when he'd decided to ask her to join him down in Dallas…

_It was the beginning of December, and everyone was excited about getting away from the lab. Nick was the only one who wouldn't be on call for the holidays, because he was planning on going down to Dallas to visit his folks, which he was majorly excited about. Dani, also, was planning to not be on call, as she was planning to go back to Toronto for Christmas. Or at least, that's what she'd been telling Nick and everyone else. _

_Nick, who had been working long into the morning, came up to Dani's door, planning on surprising her. Thinking that she might be asleep, he pulled the spare key out of his pocket, which she had given him not that long ago. It was a privilege he relished. Opening the door quietly, he shut it behind him, and listened, realizing that he could hear Dani's voice from the kitchen, as well as the radio playing Christmas songs. He moved closer, for some reason keeping quiet._

_"Ya, hi, I'm just calling to see if there have been any cancellations in cheap plane tickets to Toronto? No? Are you sure there aren't any that have more reasonable prices? Oh…oh…ok, thank you…no, I really can't afford first class…Thank you…goodbye…" This was followed by the sound of the phone clicking down, and a disheartened sigh. As if punctuating what had just happened, the last line of the song from the radio filled the silence._

'I'll be home for Christmas…  
If only in my dreams…'

_With another sigh, there was the sound of the phone being picked up and a number being dialed in. A few seconds of silence, then her voice filled the room again._

_"Hey mom…ya, I'm fine…well, mom, that's what I was calling about…I don't think I'll be able to come home for Christmas this year. Ya, I know you were looking forward to it, mom, I was looking forward to it too…but all the cheap seats are already taken, and the first class are too expensive. It's Christmas, Mom, all the prices go up…ya…I'm really sorry, Mom…I wanted to come home for Christmas too, but I'm gonna try and save up for next year…I promise. Ok…I gotta go mom, I got something on the stove…I love you too…I'm really sorry…bye…" With that, another click, then the sound of a chair shoving back, and another sigh. _

_"Next year…I'll go next year…" He heard her say to herself, then a sigh. After a moment, he backtracked to the door, opened it and closed it again, provoking a call from the kitchen. "Is that you, Nick?"_

_"Ya, ya it's me, how are you, hun?" He asked, walking into the kitchen and giving her a quick kiss, and although she smiled, he could see the sadness hidden in the background._

_"I'm fine. You must be exhausted, want to crash here tonight?" She said, not a mention of her problems, or the fact that she probably would be telling Grissom tomorrow that she wouldn't need the two weeks off after all._

_"Ya, that's a good idea…" He said absently, watching her walk around the kitchen, making some pasta. "Hey, Dani, are you still going up to Toronto for the holidays?" He asked casually, and she stiffened slightly before answering._

_"I don't know…I'm not sure, why?" She glanced at him quickly, then back at the stove absently._

_"Oh, I was just thinking…"He trailed off, thinking about it, then made up his mind. "If you maybe wanted to come to Texas with me…and meet my folks…" He held his breath, sure she was going to say no._

_She looked at him for a moment, then smiled widely. A large genuine smile, with no hidden sadness behind it. "I'd love to…but are you sure they won't mind?" Even he could hear the hopefulness behind her voice, and he suddenly realized he'd been thinking about this for longer than just the last few minutes. Maybe it's just that he couldn't bear to be away from her for two weeks._

_"I'm sure, after all, they've heard all about you, they probably want to meet you." He smiled, then moved in for another kiss, which she gladly returned, before remembering the spaghetti on the stove and quickly turned before it burned._

He smiled as he remembered everything. He'd exchanged presents with everyone, including Dani, and, to his surprise, she had gotten his family a present, as well as him. He couldn't even remember specifically what the present she'd gotten them was, just the act that she'd taken the trouble to do it had made him love her, if possible, more. He sniffled, one lone tear dripping down onto the photo, which he quickly wiped off. He carefully placed it down, before continuing to rummage through the box of memories, as he liked to call it, a few cold tears running down his cheeks. Would there be no more additions to the box?

((Fini…I got this idea when I was at school today and I needed to write it down before I forgot, so it might seem a bit rushed…hope you guys like it!!))


	5. Time passes

Chapter 5

_It was foggy, and he was walking through a field, trying to find something…but what? "Nick!" Came a voice through the haze, and he laughed out loud as he recognized the voice and saw his love standing not that far away, waving and beckoning_ _to him. "Come on!"_

_So he started to run towards her, but he couldn't get close. Every time she was within a few feet of his grasp, she'd suddenly be ages away, but he continued on, even as his legs began to ache, and he tried to call, but his voice seemed to die as soon as it left his mouth._

_Suddenly she was right in front of him, smiling, and one hand held out to take his hand. He smiled gratefully, reaching to grab her and pull her into his arms and never let go. However, just as he made contact, she faded into the mist, and he was holding onto nothing._

_"No!" He yelled angrily, and started to run through the mist, searching for her. Where was she? She wasn't gone, it must have been a trick of the light, and she was just hiding from him, somewhere in this mist._

_Suddenly his feet went over the edge and he went head over heels into darkness, only to…_

…Jerk awake as he made contact with the floor of the hospital, where he'd fallen from the couch he'd been lying on. He had been sleeping, which he had only agreed to do as long as the couch was put in Dani's room. The 'box of memories' was still sitting on the table, a few more items sitting around it, each one having been cherished, the moment remembered, and then carefully placed aside. He had only been taking out one thing every few days and it had been three weeks. He had only left the hospital once the entire time, to get a supply of clean clothes, so that he wouldn't have to leave again.

He was breathing heavily, as if he'd just run a marathon, and looked instinctively towards the bed, listening to the heart monitors which reassured him that she was still there, that she hadn't faded away, like in the dream. He moved over to the bed, giving the still form a soft kiss on the forehead before sitting down at the table again, pulling the box down onto his lap and rummaging again, coming up with a book. Curious as to why Dani had put the book in there, he opened it and jumped as out fell a rose, carefully pressed inside the book. He immediately knew where it came from, and he smiled as he picked up the delicate flower, remembering…

_It was September 3rd, the day before Danielle's birthday. Well, actually, it was technically the 4th, since it was nearly eleven in the morning .She and Nick had been officially in a relationship for about five or six months, not that either of them were counting. All the time they stayed together felt like an eternity, and it was wonderful._

_She was absolutely exhausted, having just worked a triple shift, and Nick drove her to his house, leaving her blue Toyota parked at the crime lab. She managed to stay awake, and they rode in the comfortable silence that only people in love could manage. When they arrived, they both walked into his house, and he climbed into bed in just his jeans, while she changed into a pair of his sweatpants and a loose T-shirt. She climbed into bed next to him, and he wrapped his arms around her, with her head resting in the crook of his neck._

_"I love you…" She whispered before closing her eyes, and he said the same into her ear. They said the same thing to each other every night, but it was just as heartfelt each time. They fell asleep like that, snuggled up with each other, each keeping the other warm. Well, Dani had anyway. As soon as he was sure she was asleep, he had carefully extricated himself, being careful not to wake her, and slipped out of bed, walking around to the other side and snapping off his alarm. Dani had the next night off, because of some weird rules about overtime that he didn't really understand. It was time to get ready. _

_It was nearly ten hours later before Dani finally awoke on her own, sighing sleepily and opening her eyes. She rolled over; finding that the usual warmth she woke up with wasn't there and sat up, rubbing her eyes and blinking blearily at the clock, which read 9:30. After that triple shift, Grissom had told her that she had today off, so she assumed Nick was out of the house and at work already. Yawning, she climbed out of bed and towards the hallway, only to stop and stare down at the floor, which had two lines of small tea candles making a pathway down the hall. _

_They were all lit up, and she started to walk along the man-made pathway, smiling at the atmosphere the candles created. The candles led down the main hallway and towards the living room, leading to the table in the center of the room, which had a small package with a rose lying on the top. She put one hand over her mouth, totally shocked. _

_She then moved over to the table, carefully picking up the rose and smelling it, inhaling the fragrance before placing it carefully to one side and picking up the package, which had been carefully wrapped in red wrapping paper that matched the rose. Opening it, she found a velvet jewelry box, on which was attached a note. She carefully took out the note, reading it and smiling at the simple but romantic message._

_Happy Birthday_

_To my one and only shining star,_

_I love you more than anything in the whole world_

_Love, Nick_

Carefully opening the box, she found a silver necklace, which was a silver chain, attached to a diamond-rimmed star at the very end. She started crying with a strong surge of emotions. As soon as she'd admired the necklace from every angle, she put it on carefully, as much as it obviously didn't go with the T-shirt and sweatpants she was wearing. She then picked up the rose, and started towards the kitchen, searching for a vase to put it in. 

Just then, the phone rang, and she picked it up, saying, "Hello?" She smiled into the phone as she recognized the voice on the other end who was singing softly, a verse from a song from her favourite movie, Singing in the Rain.

"You are my lucky star… 

_I saw you from afar…_

_Your eyes at me they were beaming…_

_Gleaming…_

_I'm all starstruck…"_

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke into the phone, sounding a bit choked up. "Happy Birthday, Danielle…I love you…" She started to cry into the phone, but choked out an answer. "I love you too, Nick Stokes, thank you…" After a few more seconds of talking, in which she told him how much she had loved the present, he said he had to go, because Grissom was about to give him an assignment. She smiled and said goodbye, with one more whispered "I love you" exchanged. She left the candles out, but blew them out for safety reasons…and that morning when he came home, they had breakfast together, her still wearing the necklace, then fallen asleep together, content.

As he broke out of his reverie, he looked down at the rose. He hadn't realized she'd kept the rose, just assumed it had eventually wilted and died. The rose as it appeared in his hand was barely wilted, so Dani had obviously pressed it the moment it started to die. She'd wanted to preserve the memory of that night in physical form. The necklace was merely the present; the candles and the rose signified the love and thought that had been put into it. The candles were still somewhere in his basement, carefully packed away until the next time they were needed.

He sighed, carefully replacing the rose inside the book, memorizing the page number, and placing the book on the table, but didn't continue to rummage through the box, placing it on the table. His heart was hurting, and he couldn't bear to look through any more things at the moment. He pulled his chair right up to the side of Dani's bed; his eyes wet with tears as he gently clasped her hand and started to talk again.

"Dani? You gotta wake up, Dani…you can't leave me…you can't…you just…you can't…I love you…please don't leave me alone…" His voice cracked and he started to sob, putting his face in his hand, still clasping Dani's hand with the other.

((Hope that's a long enough chapter…I don't want too much to happen at once, but there will be another chapter in not too long…in fact, I'm almost done writing it as I write this…))


	6. Awakenings

Chapter 6

_"You can't leave me…you can't…you just…you can't…I love you…please don't leave me alone…" Came a voice, and suddenly she was viewing what looked like a hospital room, but it was from an odd angle. As if she were floating by the ceiling of the room, rather than viewing it from her own body. Which, she noticed with eerie calm, was lying on the bed below her. Was she dead? No, she didn't think so. For one thing, she could hear the heart monitor beeping still. She watched as Nick sobbed into his hand, grasping her hand like a lifeline. She wanted to wake up, to comfort him, to tell him it would be ok…and suddenly she felt an odd whooshing sensation, and she could feel and hear things again._

She could feel Nick's hand clasping hers, she could hear his quiet sobs, intermixed with pleas to her. She half-opened her eyes, which took as much effort as if she were lifting a hundred-pound weight. She moved her eye-line towards where she could hear Nick's sobs, and her heart soared as she saw Nick, his face hidden by his hand. She took a deep breath, and focussed her efforts down into her fingertips, willing her muscles to contract just enough. She managed a weak squeeze, and she doubted he even felt it.

It was felt, however, and he looked up, hope written all over his face and as he saw that her eyes were open, he yelled out joyfully, which hurt her ears. She winced, and he immediately started on a round of apologies, as he whacked the nurse call button with one hand, stroking her face gently with the other. When the nurse finally came, he pointed with tears of joy running down his face.

"She's awake…" He said hoarsely, and the nurse immediately ran to get the doctor, and he turned back to Dani without another thought to it, rambling on. "Thank god, Dani, you are so brave…you are so beautiful…thank you, for not leaving me…oh my god, Dani, I've missed you so much…" His voice was cracking with emotion, and she wished she could speak, but the breathing tube that was down her throat wouldn't allow it. It had been put in about a week after she'd been shot, as one of her lungs had been grazed by one of the bullets, not allowing easy breathing.

The doctor rushed in, standing on the other side of the bed and leaned over the various machinery, and nodded, looking pleased. "Good morning, Miss. Ryan. You really had us worried for a while there…but it looks like you're going to be alright." He said, smiling down at the figure, who slowly nodded, then slowly raised up one hand, trying to reach for the breathing tube, but the doctor stopped her.

"I'm sorry, but not yet, Miss. Ryan…your lung is still having trouble getting enough air on it's own, so that needs to stay in a bit longer. Maybe a week, all right? I'm going to have to paralyze you while you sleep normally, in case you dislodge it while you sleep, is that alright?" She didn't answer right away, then, after glancing at Nick, who gave her small nod and a smile and she nodded slowly.

"Alright…so, you'll call me when she falls asleep?" He glanced at Nick, who nodded quickly, and the doctor left. She gave Nick a frustrated look, which made Nick laugh.

"You really want to talk, huh?" She nodded, and he looked around, thinking, and his eyes fell upon a small pad of paper on the table, which bore the hospital name, and an idea popped into his mind. "I think I have an idea…but let me call the gang first, so that they all know you're awake…I'm sure they want to hear." He wasn't allowed to use his cell phone in the hospital, or even have it on, a rule he had kept to religiously, somehow thinking that he was somehow saving Dani's life. He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, and waved as he walked outside into the cold Las Vegas night, but he barely felt the cold as he dialed in the number to the crime lab, relaying the latest. Grissom told him to relay his 'get well' wishes, and that he would tell the rest of the team.

Nick, as soon as he was done on the phone, he quickly shut it off and re-entered the hospital, stopping to grab a pen from the receptionist desk. Dani was still awake, and looking impatient, but couldn't summon enough energy to fidget, like she normally would. Seeing Nick, her eyes smiled, although her mouth couldn't really do more then twist up slightly at the corners, because of the breathing tube.

Nick, grabbing the paper, sat down in his chair again, and started to scribble on it, writing out his message. When he was done, he held it up, grinning, and the message made her love him, if possible, more than she ever had. It said:

_If you can't speak, neither can I. I know you're frustrated,_

_But I love you, even if you can't speak. So I'll suffer_

_Through it with you. I won't even speak to the team when they_

_Come visit. You and I are both mute until that breathing tube is out._

_I love you._

She reached for the paper and pen, wanting to write something and he gave it to her, and she started to write. She wrote slowly, because it still required a lot of effort, but she managed to write it reasonably small and neat, and she held it over for him to read, which he did. It read:

_I love you, I love you, I love you,  
What else can I say? You have stuck_

_With me through thick and through thin_

_And this just makes me love you more._

_Thank you, for everything._

_I love you._

This written exchange continued on, until Dani's eyes began to droop, and he leaned forward, softly kissing her forehead, scribbling one last message on the paper:

_I love you. Sweet Dreams, I'll see you in the morning._

She nodded, and closed her eyes, seemingly content. After he was sure she was asleep, he leaned forward and tapped the button, while he scribbled the message to the doctor onto the paper. He had made a promise, and nothing was going to break it.

---------------------------------A week later----------------------------------------------------------

A week later, Dani was a lot stronger and even more impatient to start talking again. The doctor had finally conceded that her lungs could make enough air on it's own, so they were taking out the tube in her throat that day, and she was extra impatient, as was Nick. Even if he had made a promise, not talking for a whole week had been a bit trying on his patience. However, he had kept his promise, and had only communicated through hand signals and writing.

Nick, to his annoyance, was not allowed into the room while they actually took the tube out. He paced outside the room, knowing that the removal of the breathing tube was not a big procedure, but all the same, he was nervous. When the doctor finally came out, and let him in, he nearly ran him over in his hurry. He wanted to hear Dani's voice again, even if it was hoarse and cracked.

As soon as Dani saw him, she smiled, and pushed herself to a sitting position, whispering the first word she'd said in almost a month, and it was music to his ears. "Nick…" The emotion in her voice was almost tangible, as everything she wanted to say died before it reached her mouth. He moved over, enveloping her in his arms gently, knowing that her stomach and shoulder were still sore. She rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed, and despite the fact that they could both speak again, they were both silent, communicating thousands of things.

After a few seconds, he pulled away, sitting next to the bed, gently holding both of her hands, and she started to talk slowly, whispering hoarsely, her throat sore. They talked about everything and anything, and they both said that they loved each other numerous times. The various members of the team showed up every so often, bringing gifts, including lots of gummy bears, which she adored, and cheered her up greatly. They were only stopping for a few minutes, for the case had yet to be solved. Nick was the only one off the hook, since he was obviously way too close to be working on the case. Not that he didn't want to be working on it, but he was content to just sit with Dani 24 hours a day.

((Again, trying to keep things from happening too fast, so the next chapter will be up in not too long…anyway, see you all later, and please read and review))


	7. Rooftop Romp

Chapter 7

She tried to convince him to go home, that he didn't need to stay with her constantly, but he steadfastly refused, saying that he'd be too antsy to come visit her if he went home. A couple days after the tube was taken out, they were sitting there, enjoying a comfortable silence, him lovingly stroking her hair and face, as she rubbed his hand softly, but she looked antsy.

She finally broke the silence. "Nick? I want to get up…I'm tired of never leaving this room all day…" She gazed out the window longingly, and Nick was quiet for a moment before speaking.

"You heard what the doctor said…you're not strong enough to move around much yet…" He trailed off, seeing the sad look in her bright blue eyes. He continued to think for a minute, then stood up, glancing around the room, which was void of machinery. She still had an IV in her arm, attached to a pole that could be wheeled around. He thought for a minute before leaning down, brushing his lips against hers before grinning. "Put your arms around my neck and hold on tight."

Dani did so without question, and squeaked as Nick slid his arms under her knees and behind her back, lifting her up bridal style. "What are you doing?" She asked, snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. He didn't answer right away, just motioned towards the wheeling pole.

"Grab that, I guess we can't leave it behind." She let go with her left arm, secure enough in his arms that she didn't have to hold on with both and got a firm hold on the pole. Once he was sure she had a tight hold, he started walking, out of the room and into the hall, looking around as if to make sure there was no one around to catch them. He was grinning mischievously.

"Where are we going?" She asked again, but he didn't answer, shushing her gently. He made his way to an elevator, walking in, making sure that nobody came in behind them, then clicked on the top floor button. She raised an eyebrow at him, but continued to rest her head on his neck, smiling softly. She had no idea where Nick thought he was going, but the little romp outside of her hospital room was cheering her up immensely.

Once they were on the top floor, he carefully carried her out, and searched until he found the stairs to the roof. He climbed the stairs, carefully making sure that the IV didn't fall down. Once they were on the top, he held her tightly as the wind blew against them, and they both smiled. The sun was just setting over the city, making for a beautiful scene. He carefully sat down, and set her in his lap, as she leaned against his chest, her skin lit a golden colour by the setting sun, she seemed more happy then she had in ages, and that made him happy. It was as if she were seeing life for the first time, through new eyes. She sighed contentedly, and they sat there like that for a long time, his arms wrapped around her, blocking the cold wind that started to blow as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

Although the cold wind blew directly against his bare arms, Dani's body heat kept Nick from becoming uncomfortable, as they watched the stars come out, trying to forget that this freedom was short-lived, that there were already doctors searching for them, pulling their hair out in frenzied anxiety. To them, nothing existed in the world except the stars and the two of them.

How long they were out there; neither of them would ever be able to say. It could have been an hour; it could have been five. Dani soon started to yawn, for her internal clock had been reversed from CSI to normal person. Tired at night, awake during the day. Nick gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, then picked her up again, trying to think how he was going to get the IV down the stairs while she was asleep, when the roof door opened, revealing one of the nurses. She put a finger to her lips and motioned for him to come on, and she took the IV with practiced ease, carrying it down the stairs behind them.

When Nick gave her a questioning look in the elevator, she whispered her reply, seeing as Dani was asleep, her head resting against his neck. "I know that she was anxious to get out, and I know that she's probably safer with you then she is with anyone else. So when I saw you guys on the security monitors, I covered for you." She shrugged and Nick smiled, thanking her quietly.

When they reached Dani's room, the nurse pulled down the sheets and Nick gently set Dani down into the folds, brushing her forehead gently with his hand. The nurse quietly left, leaving the IV next to the bed. Nick carefully pulled the blankets on top of the sleeping form, smiling. She was so beautiful…he sat down, and noticed the 'box of memories', not looked at since the day Dani had awoken.

He was curious as to what other stuff Dani had placed inside the box that he was unaware of, and, seeing as he was not at all tired, he made sure Dani was covered, then walked over to the table, rummaging through the box.

He paused, leaning down and reaching to the very bottom of the box, pushing aside a few birthday cards, and pulled out another book, only this one looked more like a photo album or a journal. Curious, he opened it up to the first page, and recognized Dani's neat handwriting. Dani kept a diary? He frowned, then started to read the first page, deciding it wouldn't hurt, as long as he didn't read anything private.

July 5th, 2001

11:30am

Dear Diary,

This is my first entry in you so far, I decided to start writing a diary to record every memory about my life. So that if I am, for some reason, unable to tell my friends, family, and my love myself how much they meant to me, they could read it here.

This made Nick quite a bit less anxious that he would get in trouble for reading the diary, if indeed she had meant it for him to read, if she had…died…even thinking it now made a lump rise in his throat. Shaking the thought out of his mind, he continued to read.

Last night, Nick took me to see the Independence Day fireworks. It was a beautiful night for them, there was no moon out to dull the brilliance of them, and they were absolutely beautiful. Although the last few fireworks are a bit blurry on my memory, considering how the evening was ended off.

Nick smiled, knowing what was coming next, and able to remember everything as clearly as if it were only yesterday. He didn't even finish reading the entry as he slipped into a trip down memory lane. ((A/N: In case that's not clear, this is now Nick's memory, not the diary entry))

The night was perfect, with the fireworks bursting above him, his arm around the shoulders of the most beautiful girl in the world, and his heart pounding as his thoughts continually got drawn away from the fireworks and down to the girl sitting next to him.

The fireworks were almost over, the big finale was going up, and suddenly, he knew that the time was right. Then, before he could have second thoughts, he turned her face to look at him, and kissed her. The fireworks burst unnoticed above them, and they pulled away as the last flare disappeared, followed by thunderous applause from the spectators of the fireworks, unaware that there were still fireworks going off inside the heads of the two. That had been their first kiss, and both were a bit dazed, and he was afraid for a moment that he'd acted too quickly.

However, her face slowly broke into a smile and then she'd leaned in, giving him a soft kiss. Not passionate or strong, very gentle, and it only lasted a second, but it left him breathless, and he pulled her into his arms. They'd sat like that for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, just enjoying the moment, and imprinting it forever on both their memories…

He was pulled out of his memory by the sound of Dani stirring fretfully on her bed. He carefully placed the diary down on the table, for reading later, and moved over to Dani, frowning as he saw her face creased with fret, and she was flinging off the blankets. She was moaning, as if caught up in a horrible nightmare, and he swiftly leaned over, gently shaking her uninjured shoulder, and her eyes flew open, flying around the room until they settled on his face. She was breathing heavily, and she looked terrified.

"Shh…Dani, it's ok, it was just a dream…" He said, brushing her sweaty blonde bangs off her forehead gently, and she sat up, and reached forward, wrapping her arms around him, burrowing her face in his shoulder. "Shh…what's the matter, what was it?" He asked, gently rubbing her back, feeling how she was shaking.

"It was…the gunshots, and the pain…and I thought I was going to die…" She started to sob, and he understood, rubbing her back gently, kissing the top of her head, and sitting next to her in bed. He gently shushed her, and slowly her sobs died to sniffle, her eyes closed.

"Did you see…who it was?" He dared to ask, once he was sure she was calm. She pulled away, so that she could look at him, but shook her head, eyes hooded with despair.

"No…I was caught off-guard, I never saw anything…" She sniffled, and he gently lay her back down in bed, but lay down next to her, knowing that the diary could wait. He left his arm around her shoulder, and she curled up with him. She drifted off to sleep, and he, surprisingly, found that he was quite tired as well, and soon fell asleep, pulling the blankets on top of them both.

((And, another chapter completed…actually, I have yet to post Chapter 5, because I have no access to the bloody internet here…Anyway, don't think that things are all fine and dandy again, there is a reason it's labeled Tragedy, you know... You'll see…evil grin))


	8. The Killer

Chapter 8

Less than a week later, the doctors decided that Dani was well enough that she could be moved from the hospital to her own home. The doctors were less than willing to let her stay alone, so Nick promised up and down that he would be staying with her, unknown to Dani. She would have asked him anyway, because she was, quite honestly, scared to stay alone, with whoever had shot her still at large.

Half an hour before she would be officially discharged, he disappeared down to his car and drove off, to a destination so far unknown. She watched out of her window, waiting for the familiar SUV to appear, blonde hair tumbling in a frame around her face. She looked much healthier; the IV had been removed and her shoulder and stomach weren't as sore as they were before.

Before she actually saw the car turn in, there was a knock on the door, and she turned, and the doctor at the door held up her clipboard. "Congratulations, Miss. Ryan, you are officially discharged from the hospital and you can go home! Um, your friend Mr. Stokes told me to tell you to wait in front of the front doors." The doctor smiled and moved out of the way of the door, and she walked through gratefully, thanking the doctor sincerely.

She stood outside the front doors of the hospital, in a little grassed area where there were a couple trees growing. Probably some of the few real trees in Las Vegas. She enjoyed the little escape to nature, even if there was concrete only a few feet away. She leaned against the tree, waiting patiently for Nick, mind wandering around. Her eyes wandered around almost as much as her mind, until it landed on the grass at her feet. Suddenly a flash of a memory came back to her, and for once it wasn't a pleasant one and not even about Nick.

_Cold grass beneath her back, mind-blowing pain in her shoulder, and her vision was swimming in front of her eyes, but there was a shape…a shadowy shape in front of her, and the glint of a gun. Suddenly a loud exploding noise and a sharp pain in her stomach, but she'd seen the flash of light from the gun…and she'd seen him. A vision out of hell, it seemed, her deliverance to death…_

She gasped, holding a hand up to her forehead, closing her eyes, forcing herself to put a vision of him in her head. It had been so unclear before, not even a shadowy figure, and now it was suddenly so clear, like a picture in her mind. Why hadn't she seen it before? Weird how the mind works…

Her impression was that he wasn't very tall, probably shorter than Nick, and she could have sworn she saw a reflection off of glasses or something. She thought she'd seen an outfit that looked...in fact they were the exact clothes she'd seen Nick wear a thousand times. She pressed the heels of her hand into her eyes, trying to think, to visualize.

So intent was she on visualizing, that when someone put a hand on her shoulder, she jumped a full foot backwards, stumbling and falling down, and for a moment she saw, not Nick, but whoever it was who had shot her. Nick immediately knelt next to her, looking right into her terrified eyes.

"Dani? Dani, what is it? What's wrong?" He asked, scared for her, and suddenly it went clear again, and it wasn't the shooter, but Nick once more, and she scrambled to her feet, hugging him for a moment, relieved.

"Nick, Nick, I think…I think I saw him. I saw who it was!" She said, almost unable to believe it herself. "He had glasses, I know that for sure, and he was kind of short…shorter than you for sure…he was wearing clothes that look like yours, the ones you left at my house once, that you picked up later on." Nick eyes had widened, and now were about the size of dinner plates.

"Oh my god…Dani, I never picked up those clothes…oh my god, it can't be…it can't be him…" He grabbed his cell phone, and she latched onto his arm while he pulled her gently to the passenger seat of the car, and she climbed in as he held the phone up to his ear.

"Grissom, I need you to check something for me…you remember Crane? Yes, Nigel Crane, he's still…he's still in jail right?" There was a long pause in which Grissom obviously checked on the computer, and then there was a sharp intake of breath. "How long? Damn it! Griss…I'm coming in. Yes, Dani's coming too, I'm not leaving her alone…yeah, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes." He had already started driving, and Dani was watching him, eyes wide.

"Who's Nigel Crane? What's going on, Nick?" She asked, and Nick glanced at her for a moment, but didn't answer, chewing his bottom lip, obviously stressed out and maybe a bit scared. "Nick?"

"I can't tell you right now, it might not be…it might just be a coincidence…" He said finally, and then continued to chew his bottom lip, swallowing uncomfortably. "Don't worry…even if it is, there's no way he can get to you now…unless…" He trailed off, and she waited for a few minutes, but he never finished that sentence, and she decided not to press him.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the crime lab, and they got out, Nick looking around, as if expecting something to jump out at them any second. As soon as they walked in, Grissom came up to them, frowning deeply.

"Griss, Dani remembers a bit about who shot her, and…the description matches him…" Nick said, and the fear in his voice made Dani look at him, eyes wide, then back at Grissom, obviously getting just a little bit annoyed at being kept in the dark. Grissom frowned, and then motioned for them to follow him. He went into his office and started shifting through his files. Nick put an arm around Dani's shoulders, as if trying to shield her from whoever this Nigel Crane was.

Grissom, having found what he was looking for, held out a picture, which Nick glared at angrily. "Is this who you saw?" Grissom asked Dani, and she took the picture, looking at it, and there was no question. The glasses, the stature, even the hair…it was all as she remembered. She nodded, and Nick swore loudly, running a hand through his hair.

"Grissom, why didn't you ever tell me he was out? How could they let him out? He's a psycho, Griss, and he's obviously still obsessed with me, that's why he's targeting Dani!" Nick said angrily, not caring that this wasn't Grissom's fault. Grissom didn't even react, just blinked at him, then spoke.

"Do you think he's stalking you again? We have to check your attic. Dani, you have to stay here." Grissom said, causing her to immediately start protesting, but he shushed her effectively. "You can't come, you're not technically working here right now…you're still on medical leave…so you have to stay here…or head home. Go hang out with Greg or something." Nick, when she looked at him for support, nodded.

"He's right, Dani, it'll raise a lot of questions…plus it might be dangerous, and I would feel better if you would stay here…" She sighed and nodded, giving him a quick peck on the cheek before heading out into the hall towards Greg's lab, and Nick watched her for a moment before turning back to Grissom, anger sparking in his eyes. "Let's go."

Dani headed into the lab, but found out that Greg was, for once, out in the field doing something, leaving her with nothing to do. Having not grasped that this Nigel person could be anywhere and that he was dangerous, she decided to take a bus to head home, but she'd leave a note for Nick, so that he wouldn't worry when he came back with this Crane person.

Walking out into the street, she waited at the bus stop for about ten minutes, then took a bus ride for about twenty minutes before she got anywhere near her house. She got to her house after about five minutes and fished through her purse until she found her keys, pushing open the door. Feeling exhausted, as it was getting to be late out, she decided to just heat up a frozen dinner to munch on and watch her episodes of Three's Company to relax her mind.

Halfway through heating up the dinner in the microwave, she paused, thinking she heard something. She turned her head nervously, but there was nothing behind her. She looked up to the ceiling, chewing her bottom lip, then decided she was imagining things or that it was a squirrel on the roof or…something. She gulped, turning back to her microwave, which was beeping, showing that the dinner was done.

Taking the dinner out, she walked back into her little living room, and put it onto a small tray, walking over to the T.V, inserting one of DVDs into the player, and grabbing the remote, heading back to the couch. She didn't start it right away, however, again looking up at the ceiling, where she could swear she heard footsteps, but chalked it up to frazzled nerves, turning back to the T.V, preparing to turn it on, when she heard more sounds from up in her attic. Unnerved, she stood up, deciding maybe she should check it out.

Before she even got to the door to the stairs that led to her attic, the door flung open, and a man stumbled out. As he drew his attention to her, she immediately recognized him from both the photo and her own memory. Gulping, she spoke, noticing the gun in his hands, and as nervous as he looked, she had a feeling that was just an outward appearance, considering that he also looked mentally unbalanced, and had already shot her once.

"Nigel Crane, I assume?"

((Dun dun dun! Cliffhangers are just sooo fun, aren't they? I now grin evilly whilst I watch you die from suspense!! XD Also, I need some opinions. Should I have it extremely tragic (As in Character Death), just a little bit tragic (extremely, extremely close to death wound), or not at all tragic (Maybe a broken limb or something…) XD Anyway, opinions please, or I won't be able to write a new chapter! Muhahahahaha!))


	9. I would die for you

Chapter 9

Author's Notes: Hey guys, I am sooo sorry I haven't updated in so long! But my exams are next week, so I have to study and crap, as well as the teachers who are throwing every stupid assignment they can think of, and I haaaate it! However, I just had my last real school day of Semester 1, so I can stop worrying about it! Yay!

------------------------------------------CHAPTER 9--------------------------------------------------

_"Nigel Crane, I assume?"_

Uttered almost fearfully as she backed up, bright blue eyes transfixed on the gun in his hands, which she suddenly realized belonged to Nick. How this man had gotten it, she didn't know, but she would probably find out soon enough.

"That's, t-that's right, Nigel Crane, and you are Danielle. Danielle Marie Ryan, originally from Oakville, Ontario, Canada…how c-could I f-forget you? You s-stole him f-from me." The nervous stutter might have been amusing, had he not also had the gun aimed right at her heart.

"Stole who…?" Maybe if she kept him talking, she could find a way to get away…her hands groped behind her, trying to find the table, which she knew was only a foot or so behind her. Meanwhile, Nigel was talking, and she could just feel the hate emanating from his voice.

"You s-stole Nick! He was going to be _my _best friend and you, you little bitch, y-you just gave a little flirty smile and a flip of your bleach blonde hair, and you had him at your b-beck and call. He was brainwashed; he doesn't _really _love you. I-I mean, how c-could he? You aren't even his type, I k-know for a f-fact that he prefers r-redheads." Nigel was rambling on and on, and she had no choice but to listen, cowering slightly as he waved the gun around for emphasis, sure it was going to go off at any moment.

"L-look, c-can't we just t-talk about this?" Dani suggested hopefully, hands finally finding the table behind her, wishing that she knew where her gun was. However, it was probably sitting at the lab, in her locker. Idiot that she was, she didn't keep any sort of protection around the house.

"No, no, no, you see, I can't just talk about it…in order for Nick to s-start paying attention to me, he has to s-stop seeing you. You know, I t-tried already to divert his attentions. I t-tried to s-shoot you, and I thought that as soon as I found him, he'd be vulnerable and he'd n-need a friend." The gun raised higher, now aiming directly at her face. "H-however, he n-never left the hospital. I never g-got the chance to t-talk to him. B-because of y-you!" Obviously the point of the first attack was not to dispose of her permanently. Just put her out of the picture long enough so that Nick's attentions would be able to be focussed on Nigel.

"You're insane, Nigel…" Quiet, her hands finally found her glass of apple juice, and her hand clenched around it, as she tried to think, tried to plan. "Nick doesn't like you. He thinks you're a psycho. Get over it." Dani cringed, waiting for him to react.

"That's w-what I knew y-you would say." He said, and suddenly he cocked the gun in his hand, aiming directly at her forehead. "N-now it's t-time to get you out of the w-way…Nick will be _my _friend…and no one else's…"

Suddenly, she flung the contents of the glass into his eyes, causing him to automatically turn away, trying to shield his face with one hand. Taking the opportunity, she tried to grab the gun, wrestling with the more muscular Nigel, and she screamed when the gun went off, smashing one of her lamps into smithereens, but burning her fingers badly, forcing her to look go, and fall back onto the ground with the force.

Apparently she'd managed to dislodge the gun from Nigel's grip, and she heard the gun landing, as well as a panicked yell from the doorway, which she vaguely recognized as Nick's voice. Everything suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion, as she yanked herself to her knees, lunging for the gun, but then it was snatched away just before she clasped it. Her fingers were burning, but it seemed more like a dull ache, and every sound was muffled, including the sound of banging on the door and yelling.

"So, you thought you could get away, huh?" There was no trace of nervousness or stuttering now, just cold rage and vengeance, as the gun was once again cocked. Suddenly, before anything could happen, there was a loud smashing sound, breaking through the vacuum she had been sealed in and everything suddenly returned to her with a whooshing sort of feeling.

"Get away from her, Nigel!" An angry voice, with just a bit of fear, which her fear clouded mind immediately grasped on as an anchor of hope. Nick? What was he doing here? How had he gotten into her house? What was Nigel going to do?

"Why hello Nick…I was just n-n-negotiating with your ex-girlfriend here." Nigel was still looking at her, and still had the gun pointed at her, unfortunately, leaving no opportunity for escape. Dani was suddenly aware of how much her hand was burning and took a moment to glance down at it, noting that it was already blistered. _Ex-girlfriend…if Nick doesn't get him to get that gun out of my face, I'm going to be ex-living too. _

"Ex-girlfriend? Negotiating? What are you talking about Nigel…?" He's wary, and she cautiously raised her head a bit, able to just see him over the arm of the couch, which her head was lying just behind. He doesn't have his gun out…why doesn't he have his gun out? "Just put the gun down, Nigel…ok, we can resolve this without violence…" Dani felt almost pathetic, hearing how unafraid Nick sounded. Just calm and collected, telling a suspect to put down his gun.

"I can't do that, Nick…you see, she's the only thing that stands between you and me." Again with the best friends crap, Nick would never socialize with this psycho even if his life depended on it. _Or mine…_ If only Nigel would just turn away. Just for a split second, so she could hurt him. As if translating her thoughts, she saw Nigel turn away for just the barest of seconds, and suddenly her feet were connecting with his knees and he was down. Scrambling to her feet, she started to reach for the gun, but then Nigel had it up. Suddenly time slowed down for the second time.

The sound of the gun cocking echoed in her ears, and her mind froze, halfway between flinging out of the way and standing up, and the gun lowered, aimed at her. Suddenly something connected with her side, sending her flying out of harm's way and then there was the sound of gunshots. Two, in quick succession and panic suddenly went flying through her brain; the pain of landing forgotten as suddenly everything started to move normally again. Nick. He was bleeding. He was on the ground. Oh my god.

"No!" A pain-wracked scream and it took her a few moments, in which she had crawled to Nick's side, to realize that it had come from both her and Nigel at the same time. "I-I didn't mean to…w-why did he…how could he?" These mutterings from Nigel were lost on her, as she tried weakly to stop the blood flow from Nick's torso with her hands. He looked at her, almost as if he were half-asleep, and words formed on his lips, and she burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

"I love you…" Then his eyes closed, and suddenly pain and grief dissolved, and rage filled her vision, and suddenly her mind zeroed in on the gun holstered at Nick's side. Before she knew what was happening, she was standing, and the gun was aimed directly at Nigel, who had dropped his gun in shock at what he'd done.

"You bastard. You son of a bitch, you killed him…you killed him, you bastard!" Her voice slowly rose in decibel level, as she moved closer, gun on him, fully ready to pull the trigger and end his miserable existence. "I'll be Nick's best friend…I'll be his only friend…" She mimicked, not caring how cruel it sounded.

Suddenly her monologue was ended as another voice sounded from the door. "Freeze, police!" Her head didn't turn, as she recognized the voice as none other than Jim Brass. "We need paramedics ASAP, officer down!" This was the part where her mind detached from everything. Hollow eyes watched as Nigel was taken away, but the gun never left her hands until Brass gently took it away, saying something to her in a low voice, which failed to make it through her mind.

_Nick's dead…Nick's dead…oh my god, Nick's dead and it's all my fault…_ Her mind was stuck on this, as if she was a broken record, and finally, Brass led her, ever the gentlemen, towards the police car, telling her to just wait out here. Or something along those lines. One by one, Grissom, Warrick, and Catherine each came up to her, and tried to talk to her, but she gave no response, just continued to lean against the police car, staring at the house blankly.

Someone must have eventually noticed her hand, she supposed, for at some point someone led her towards an ambulance, where a paramedic was waiting. Something about the friendly looks of the female made her say something. Just three words. "Nick's dead…" It was emotionless, nearly robotic, but the paramedic looked at her sympathetically.

"Who's Nick, honey?" The voice was the only sound or sensation that registered. Not the pain of her hand as she applied ointment and a bandage. Not the police sirens. Just this one sympathetic voice that didn't know who the greatest man the world had ever known was.

"He…He…was a great man…he saved me…" Again, she was mechanical, eyes and voice dead, as if the gun had pierced her and not Nick. However, the woman's next answer snapped her back to the real world so fast it nearly hurt her ears and her neck as she swung her head back at her. "W-what did you say?"

"Nick's not dead, sweetheart…the paramedics took him to the hospital ages ago…he was fluctuating when they loaded him into the ambulance though, so I don't know…" Whatever she was saying was lost on Dani as she wrenched her hands away, the bandages falling to the ground, and scrambled away, towards her car, not caring as she heard Brass try to stop her.

Nick was alive…but would he still be when she got there?

((-takes deep breath- Wow…that took a lot of effort…I hope this was good guys and I apologize again for taking so long…did I get too dramatic or anything? Please review…bye!))


	10. More Hospital Time

Chapter 10

The hospital waiting room was full of the rustling of fabric, small children coughing, and hushed tones. All this silence made her nervous, and the way that people kept looking over at her strangely wasn't helping either. Not that she could blame them, she supposed, looking down at herself. Her clothes and hands were covered in blood, and one hand was blistered and swollen from her burn. Every so often, she glanced towards the receptionist desk, trying to see if they'd heard news on Nick yet. Not surprisingly, he'd been taken directly to surgery when he got here, and she wasn't able to see him until afterwards, if everything went smoothly.

She was surprised they'd even told her anything, considering she'd burst into the waiting room, tear-stained and blood-stained, pushed past whoever was standing at the counter, and demanded to know where Nick was. Danielle had been pretty hysterical, not understanding why they couldn't tell her where he was, and it had taken a bit to calm her down enough to get her to give Nick's last name and what was wrong with him. Then they'd told her that he had gone into surgery, and it could be as long as a few hours, because of how much blood he'd lost.

Having been instructed to sit in the waiting room until they called her, she'd done as she was told, refusing any medical attention, saying there was nothing wrong with her. How long had it even been? Glancing at her watch, she clumsily tried to wipe the blood off so that she could see the time, but it was useless, the blood had already dried. Glancing around, her eyes landed on a clock on the wall, which said that it was nearing one o'clock in the morning. Which meant it had been only two hours? It had felt like an eternity.

Finally, a nurse came up to her, clearing her throat and Danielle looked up, blinking slowly. "Miss. Ryan?" The nurse seemed uncertain she was speaking to the right person, but Danielle nodded and she continued. "Mr. Stokes's surgery went fine, and his vitals are fairly stable, and we can allow you to see him…" The nurse had barely finished her sentence, when Danielle was up, the familiar fire burning in her eyes. "R-Room 321" The nurse stammered out as answer to her unasked question, and Danielle walked with a purposeful stride, heading to the elevator.

As she walked along the third floor, which she recognised as the ICU, she felt sick, looking at the horrible state the patients she walked by were in, and afraid that Nick had been permanently damaged. What if he couldn't speak, couldn't hear, couldn't see…couldn't love? Finally the room number leaped out at her and she stopped, staring up at it before carefully pushing it open. A doctor was just leaving, and he smiled sympathetically at her.

"Your friend was very lucky, Miss. Ryan, but I think he'll pull through now…the shots didn't hit any vital organs. The sedatives haven't worn off yet, so he won't wake up for an hour or so and won't hear you if you speak to him." Rules, rules, so many rules, regulations, which all came down to one thing. Don't touch him, he's fragile. Nodding dumbly, she pushed open the final door, her eyes afraid to see what was there.

Nick was lying on the bed, head propped up slightly by a pillow, with skin so pale it resembled sour milk. His eyes were closed, and, looking, she could see a tube that connected into his wrist, red liquid pouring in from a small bag. Blood transfusion. Type AB Positive. Rare blood type, he was lucky they had enough to give him. Those thoughts swirled through her mind, while relief that he was alive at all filled her to the very brim. What would she have done if he had died? Shaking these thoughts from her mind, she walked slowly over, as if afraid that he was going to awaken with her movements.

Carefully pulling a chair over to the side of the bed, with her back to the door, she sat, taking slow breaths, just staring at the figure in front of her. Reaching out a hand, she took his, feeling how cold it was, and trying to ignore it. For a long time, there was no sound in the room except their breathing and the constant beeping of the heart monitor that sat on the other side of the bed, showing the pattern of his heartbeats. Communicating without communicating, Danielle just held his hand, waiting, tears of relief flooding her eyes, making everything swim and blur, but she hardly noticed.

The door opened behind her, but she didn't realise someone else was in the room until someone put their hand gently on her shoulder. Jumping a bit, she turned her head, seeing that it was Warrick, and she returned his weak smile. "Hey." She said hoarsely, and he nodded, pulling a seat up next to her, looking at Nick, and she saw that he seemed incredibly calm, despite it all.

"How is he?" He asked, and she opened her mouth to answer, swallowing. "I…he's stable. T-the doctors think he'll pull through. He should wake up in not too long." She answered, her blue eyes suddenly picking up on the cast that wrapped around his torso. That's how the bullets missed his vital organs, they'd hit his ribs. Warrick was nodding, then turned to her, looking serious.

"What about you?" This, Danielle didn't answer right away, considering the answer in her head. How was she? Panicked, sore, relieved, scared, upset, guilty…was it her fault that all this had happened? Remembering that Warrick was still waiting for her answer, she cleared her throat and smiled weakly.

"Fine." She lied, not looking at him, still holding Nick's hand, even though he was still sedated. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit sore…the nurses took care of me though…" Her hand had indeed been bandaged at one point, though she wasn't positive when exactly. Warrick nodded again, though she had a feeling he didn't believe her. He probably didn't want to press her, though. Not when her emotional constitution was very fragile…it threatened to break at any moment.

Suddenly Nick stirred, and Warrick wasn't even there. Nigel Crane didn't exist…the doctors didn't exist…this room didn't even exist. There was just her and Nick as he opened his dark eyes slowly, looking around, obviously dazed and confused. She swallowed and forced a smile on her face as his eyes fell on her and he looked relieved.

"Hey sweetie." She said hoarsely, smiling widely in spite of the tears of relief on her face. "How are you feeling?" Warrick didn't say anything, and carefully stood up, backtracking silently out of the room, knowing that the pair would want to talk alone. Nick shook his head a couple times and blinked to make sure that Danielle was really there, and that he wasn't seeing things.

"I'm a little sore…what happened? Where's Nigel? Are you ?" His never-ending line of questions were silenced as she put a finger to his lips quickly, stemming the flow before it overwhelmed her.

"One at a time, hun…you saved my life, that's what happened and Nigel's gone. Taken away. Forever, I hope." Shaking her head, she looked down at her hands, her brain going back to those few seconds that had separated her from being a murderer. Even if the murder would have been justified. It had been so close…had Brass been only ten seconds later than he had, she swore to God, she would have pulled that trigger and ended Nigel Crane's miserable life.

"Are you ok, Dani?" Nick asked, having seen her expression. "What's the matter, what happened?" Hearing his concerned voice brought her back to the present and she forced a smile on her face, and nodded.

"I'm fine…I was just wondering what I would have done without you…" She said, wiping away a tear with one hand, and smiling at him in relief and sadness, letting her guilt and despair rest in the back of her mind. "You scared me, you know, don't you ever do that again." She said, running one hand through his hair, as if to brush it away from his face and he caught her hand halfway back to her lap, and looked at the bandage sternly.

"'I'm fine', huh?" He said, raising his eyebrow, and she laughed, kissing his cheek lightly, as they both laughed. "What happened to your hand?" He asked as she pulled it back, using her un-bandaged hand to caress his cheek, smiling.

"Just a little burn…" Danielle replied airily, and gave him another kiss, grinning. "Warrick and probably the others are outside, I'm going to go get them, alright?" He nodded, and she gave him one last kiss before standing up and exiting the room, an extra bounce in her step with the knowledge that Nick was safe.

Warrick was outside, accompanied by Greg, Archie and other members of the nightshift she didn't even know the names of, and, though Warrick, Greg and Archie did a good job of keeping them at least three feet away from her, they all wanted to know how Nick was. Bombarded with questions, she finally took a firm hold on Warrick, Greg, and Archie and dragged them into the room, closing the door with a slam behind her and locking it. "Holy geez, who are all those people?" She asked, and Warrick and Greg laughed while Archie answered her.

"Nick's got quite a fanclub, most of whom would love to see the two of you break up so they could sink their hooks into him." He explained, chuckling at the look on her face. "What, you think you're the only one who ever noticed Nick's looks and charm?" There had only been about five of them and that constituted a 'fanclub?' Shrugging, she rolled her eyes and directed them inside, following them, but remaining towards the back so that the guys could have their 'male bonding', which involved explicit details of the girls who hung around outside, and how they'd saved his girlfriend from death by trampling. It was quite humourous to listen to, and she smiled, sitting on a chair as other members of the team came in and out.

Finally, everyone had visited, and Grissom had (amazingly) given her the next night off, so she didn't have to worry about getting sleep for work the next night, and just sat by Nick, both of them whispering quietly to each other. Their nightmare was over, and nothing could possibly hurt them now. Everything seemed just…perfect. Smiling, she watched as he drifted off to sleep, and kissed his forehead before settling down in her chair, embracing the welcome escape into sleep.

((Alright, I'm sorry it took so long to update guys! I'll update sooner next time, I promise! I'm not sure where I'm going to go from here, does anyone have any suggestions? Make sure to tell me if you do! Alright, see you later!))


End file.
